Planting Seeds of Change: Honouring NAIDOC Week with Ngiyambalgarra Consultancy

Ngiyambalgarra Consultancy Team

As NAIDOC Week 2025 shines a spotlight on "The Next Generation: Strength, Vision & Legacy," Ngiyambalgarra Consultancy is marking the occasion with reflection, purpose, and a commitment to creating generational change. Led by founder Louisa Whettam, the team at Ngiyambalgarra is working tirelessly to challenge and transform systems that have long failed First Nations communities.

“We live in a system that doesn’t work for First Nations people,” Louisa says. “I want to disrupt this system as much as I can and dismantle it one brick at a time.”

At the heart of their work is the DEADLY Lens approach - a way of reshaping professional practice from a Western lens into one that honours and centres First Nations culture. The consultancy delivers training across government and NGO sectors in Logan, including education, health, child safety, police, and local leadership groups like Logan Together.

Ngiyambalgarra’s training doesn’t just pass on knowledge - it inspires a shift in mindset and practice. The team has worked with organisations such as YFS, Pathways to Resilience, the Primary Health Network, UnitingCare, and The Benevolent Society. Their mission: to ensure First Nations voices are heard and embedded into the foundation of service delivery and governance.

The journey to this point has been both personal and collective. Louisa’s background with Opportunity Child  (a national backbone organisation for collective impact initiatives) set the stage. She worked to ensure First Nations representation at decision-making tables across Australia. When that organisation folded during COVID, Louisa continued the work as a sole trader before founding Ngiyambalgarra Consultancy.

“I want to use the influence I’ve built over many years to change how we approach equity, funding, and program design. First Nations people must be part of the conversation from the beginning - not brought in at the end,” she says.

The consultancy team reflects a shared passion and deep personal connection to this work. Denise, Business Planner, says, “We are bruised from the past, and that story needs to be shared.” Kelly, who supports the team as a personal assistant, sees their work as vital for future generations: “It’s about making a stand - making sure our kids know where we’ve come from and what we need to do moving forward.”

Office Manager Sonya speaks to the real-world impact of Ngiyambalgarra’s workshops:

“Louisa is changing the people who work in the system - planting seeds of change at the grassroots. People walk away with new understanding and a different lens. That ripple effect can shift not just organisations, but families and communities.”
She adds, “We hope this becomes a generational change, even if it’s slow. Change starts here, with conversations and education.”

Workshop Coordinator Sipa reflects on the power of voice and visibility:

“As a First Nations person, this work gives us the opportunity to go into the community and educate those who don’t know our history. That is powerful.”

For NAIDOC Week, the team is honouring the spirit of the theme by encouraging staff to choose their own ways to connect, reflect, and celebrate. Whether attending local Logan events or joining in community gatherings, the emphasis is on personal agency and cultural pride.

This year’s NAIDOC theme speaks to legacy - not just the one we inherit, but the one we leave behind. Ngiyambalgarra Consultancy is building a legacy of disruption, transformation, and truth-telling, laying foundations for a future where systems serve, include, and respect First Nations people.

As Louisa puts it:

“I’m riding on the backs of matriarchs and patriarchs who came before me - Charlie Perkins, and so many others who broke down the systems that oppressed us. We’re still feeling those impacts. But we’re here, continuing their work - and doing it for the next generation.”

Ngiyambalgarra means yarning together in collaboration. And through every conversation, workshop, and courageous challenge to the status quo, this team is helping others think differently - and act with purpose.